Lyfe Changing (7 page)

“
Miss you must wait until
the police arrive so they can handle the situation…they should be
arriving there shortly ok?”

“
Ok…” I hung up the phone
and attempted to wait for the police. As the loose wires from the
pole continued to spark I debated going up to the car. “I could
just see if the person is alive…nothing is wrong with that.” I
assured myself. Against the operators orders I made my way slowly
to the car.

It was a busted up dark
Nissan that was completely damaged; the front bumper was split in
two, the window shield shattered, not to mention the dented side
doors. It was as if a tornado had hit it. “Hello…can anyone hear
me?” I called out but got nothing. The loose wire continued to
swing around the wooded pole like a rattlesnake on fire. I eased to
the driver’s seat and noticed a large figure there. His body looked
battered and he was bleeding from his arm and the side of his head.
“Oh God…” I gasped. “Sir…sir can you hear me?” He didn’t respond. I
peered in the car at the rest of the seats to see if any others
were with him. It appeared he was alone. I reached into the car
through the busted window to touch his neck for a pulse. It was
faint but still there making me glad that he wasn’t dead but still
cautious as to how to help him.
I have to
do something
, I thought. I reached for the
handle of his door and attempted to open it. It was very resistant
due to the accident but I managed to get it open. The man was
knocked out completely and was not responding to my attempts to
revive him.
Ok, get him out of the
car
, I thought.

As I moved in closer to him
the sparks from the pole dangled down to the hood of the car and
scared me back.
Those sparks could ignite
a fire at any moment
. My instincts kicked
back in and I attempted to get the wounded passenger to safety. The
man was clearly too large for me to carry him out but then again in
this dire moment what choice did I have.
Maybe I should wait
, I
thought.
He could have a concussion,
broken bones, or something…it would be harmful for me to move
him
. But from the way that wire was moving
around I knew I was all out of options. I placed his large arm over
my shoulder and began to shift him from out of the car. I thought I
had him for a moment until his dead weight came crashing down on
me. “Uh….my God.” I exclaimed as we landed on the ground. “You must
way a ton.” I took a much needed breath before dragging him back to
the road. “Ugh….this is going to take forever.” I continued to pull
him as much as possible…occasionally stopping to regain my
strength. We weren’t even half way there when the sound of an
explosion pushed us back.

I quickly shielded our
bodies as the car exploded sending a wild fire through the trees. I
looked on in shock. The heat from the fire was strong and spreading
everywhere. I finally got the sense to continue to get us both to
safety.
Almost there I kept telling
myself…almost there
. As we finally arrived
back on the main road the police and ambulance had pulled up onto
the scene.

“
We got fire…is the
ambulance on the way”

“
Yeah, their five minutes
behind us.”

I heard the officers yell.
I collapsed on the pavement with the strangers head in my lap
unable to believe what had just happened.
He could have died…hell I could have died.
I felt a hand touch my shoulder bringing me back
to reality. “Ma’am do you need assistance.” I looked up to the
paramedic.

“
No I don’t…but he does.”
They gathered around us and put him on a stretcher. “Are you going
to ride with us?” One of them asked. I looked from them to the man
they were caring for. “I have my car…I’ll follow you.” They nodded
and set the van ready to go. I returned to my vehicle, completely
shaken and unable to speak. I paused for a moment contemplating on
whether to follow them to the ambulance or just go home. Eventually
I cranked up my car and followed the red flashing
lights.

I waited for hours in the
lobby of Shand’s Hospital. My eyes were weary and aches were
appearing in my body due to the stress of the situation. I looked
around, there were many people in and out waiting to see their
loved ones…and then there was me. I wasn’t here because of a loved
one or family member. Hell I had never met this man in my life
before tonight but something in me still knew I had to be here. I
didn’t understand why but I sat in wait to hear was he alright.
“Mrs. Lyfe….Mrs. Lyfe.” I looked around the room to see whom the
nurse was referring to, when no one responded she tapped me on the
shoulder. “Mrs. Lyfe” “Me?” I said pointing to myself. “Yes…the
doctor would like to see you about your husband. You can follow
me.”
My husband
, I
repeated to myself. The nurse motioned for me to follow her and I
reluctantly got up. We made our way through the sealed doors,
crossed the hall and stopped at the third door on the right. “Right
in there Mrs. Lyfe.”

I nodded and entered the
room. There he was lying asleep in the hospital bed. He was
attached to monitors and beat up pretty good judging by his wounds.
Aside from his bruises I could tell he was very handsome, he had
nice light cinnamon skin, long dark wavy hair tucked behind his
head, and a smoothed out goatee around his mouth. That well-built
body of his which gave me so much trouble covered the majority of
the of the hospital bed. I stood and admired him for a moment when
I noticed his hospital sheet at the foot of the bed. Wanting to
know more about him I picked it up. “Derrick…Lyfe…Your name is
Derrick Lyfe.”
Interesting
, I thought. I walked
closer to his bedside and gazed in on his attractive face.
Not bad…not bad at all
. I
smothered a piece of his hair back, placing it among the rest. I
noticed his eyes flutter and I leaned back.
Did I imagine that?
I thought. I
watched as his eyes opened and looked up at me.
Oh my God
…I thought. My heart was
pounding and I was finding it difficult to breathe.

“
Who…” He tried to speak
but his voice was a little dry. I looked around the room for some
water and quickly poured some in a cup. I held it to his lips as he
sipped on it. When his voice soothed he spoke again. “Who…who the
hell are you?” I looked at him startled at first but with pitying
eyes not knowing what to do for him. “Destiny…I’m Destiny. I found
you out on the road. You were in an accident.” “Accident? What the
fuck?” He strained to move around due to the pain so I helped him
sit up. I noticed him breathing heavy like he was hurting. “I’m
going to go get a doctor ok?” I turned to leave but he grabbed my
arm forcefully. “No...no.” He barely got out. I tried to pull away
from him but his grip was to firm. “Tell me what happened.” He
demanded. I shook in fear, those once gentle eyes looked deranged
and crazy now and I wanted to get away.

“
I don’t know…just let me
get the doctor.”

“
No…you know…tell
me.”

Damn it Destiny,
I thought.
Why the hell
didn’t you just go home? Now I’m stuck here with this crazy
man.
“Look I saw your car had run off the
road and I went to help you that’s it …now please.” I tried to pull
away but he would not release me. “Did you see them…Did you see?” I
looked at him confusingly. “They were there…they were all around
me…I know you know…I know you saw them, tell me?” He looked scared
out of his mind but there was nothing I could do to comfort
him.

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about?”

“
They were after me… they
were there…” He went on.

“
Did you see? Did you see
them?”

Ok...I can’t do this
anymore…I got to get out of here.
“Doctor….somebody help!” I screamed. Nurses and doctors all
came running into the room and helped me get out of his grasp.
“No…she knows…she saw… no.” He yelled like a mad man as they tried
to sedate him. “Calm down Mr. Lyfe. We are here to help you.” The
doctor tried to calm him down…to no avail. I could do nothing but
just watch in disbelief. The doctors placed restraints on his arms
to keep him from moving. “No damn it…she knows…don’t leave please…”
I couldn’t handle this anymore, I ran out of the room and out the
sealed doors to the parking lot. I didn’t stop until I reached my
car, unlocked the doors and sat there. I tried to calm my breathing
in this moment of panic. I was shaking so bad it was hard to get my
key into the ignition. I didn’t notice the tears streaming down my
face; I didn’t even know why I was crying. I pulled out of the
parking lot and headed back into the city. All I wanted was to go
home and never think about this night again. I drove for over
nearly fifteen minutes and Derrick Lyfe’s face continued to stay
stuck in my mind…I didn’t know if there was any forgetting about
him.

Derrick

“Ok just be easy…take your
time.” The nurse instructed me. It had been a week since the
accident and I was still stuck in the hospital. “Got Damn…” I
grumbled sitting back down on my bed. I had been attempting to move
around more but many of my muscles had been torn making my body
feel crippled. “You really need to watch that pouty mouth of
yours.” Nurse Joy scolded me as she got my lunch pre pared. She was
a regal older black lady who worked double shifts in the hospital
to take care of her grand kids. Nurse Joy had been helping me
recover from the accident ever since I had been awake. She fixed my
foods, helped me walk, and just kept me company when she sensed I
was lonely. It was easy for me to be comfortable around her because
she reminded me so much of my grandmother, always putting other
people’s needs before her own. I looked down at my beat up body, I
had a few cuts and scrapes but most of the damage was internal.
Given another week I should be good to go. “You in pain boy? You
need some medication?” Nurse Joy asked looking at me
concerned.

I strained a little to sit
up on the side of the bed. “No…I’m good.” She shook her head at me,
took seat and started to knit. “Derrick aint no time to try and be
superman…you need some serious care right now…that accident was
bad.”
You don’t know the half of
it
, I thought. I couldn’t believe I was out
of five million dollars. “Got damn.” I mumbled.
All that work I put in and nothing…shit.
I had been reflecting back on the accident ever since I woke
up. I still couldn’t understand how it happened in the first place.
I knew for a fact I saw something in front of me and I swerved out
of the way, but they say no one was or had been on the road that
night…except for her. Destiny, that’s what she said her name was. I
remembered waking up and seeing her… looking at her beautiful face.
She looked familiar, and not just because she reminded me of Naomi
Campbell with her chocolate skin and almond shaped eyes, but
because I had remembered seeing her somewhere before. I shook my
head when I thought back on it. From the way I acted I probably
scared the hell out of her. I didn’t even remember why I was acting
so crazy; maybe I was just in shock. I lay back onto the hospital
bed and tried to find some peace of mind.

“
You still thinking about
her?” Nurse Joy looked at me smiling like she knew what was going
through my head. I played it off. “I don’t know who you are talking
about…I aint thinking bout nobody.” “You not huh?” She gave me the
suspicious eye. “Well there was a pretty young lady who saved you
from a fatal accident and who even stayed out in the lobby all
night while the doctors worked on you…And then somebody scared her
away.” She said glancing in my direction. “I didn’t mean to scare
her…damn I don’t know what the fuck was wrong with me.” I sighed.
Nurse Joy gave me the evil eye for my language and I quickly
apologized. “I’m sorry...I just don’t know what happened.” “Well
don’t worry with it too much…if it’s meant to be you’ll see her
again.” I shrugged like I didn’t care one way or the other…but
truth is I did want to see her again. If nothing else to at least
thank her for saving my life. I looked up to a knock on the door.
“Am I interrupting?” An intruder asked. I rolled my eyes.
Oh hell
, I
thought.
Why is he here?
Detective Trent made his way into my room looking
as nonchalant as ever. He still wore his dark street clothing not
drawing to much attention to himself, but I was a trained cop
spotter, I could see they ass coming from a mile away. “Good
morning Mr. Lyfe…mind if I have a word.”

I slowly sat up in the bed
making eye contact with him. He was the same middle aged Spanish
cat who stayed prowling the streets looking for the next take
down…Detective Trent. “Nurse Joy do you mind giving us a minute?” I
said without looking at her. She saw the seriousness in my eyes and
took the hint. “I’m just a buzz away if you need me…” She walked
out the room closing the door to give us some privacy. Detective
Trent eyed me for a moment before speaking. “Well Derrick I must
say I’m sad to see you in such conditions…you don’t look too well”
I chuckled at his arrogance thinking he was superior to me in my
weak state… he was sadly mistaken. “Well then you should know that
I don’t feel like entertaining your bullshit today so what do you
want?”